Arizona Moves One Step Closer to Accepting Bitcoin for Taxes

The Arizona Senate has passed a bill that aims to allow residents in the state to pay their taxes with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

As previously reported by CoinDesk, last month a group of lawmakers submitted a bill that, if passed, would enable taxpayers to use bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in order to pay "tax and any interest and penalties" to the state's Department of Revenue. The Department, in turn, would have 24 hours to convert those payments to U.S. dollars.

Public records show that the Senate passed the bill on Feb. 8 by a 16-13 margin, with one no-vote. The measure has since been sent to the state's House of Representatives for further consideration.

While the measure's success is contingent on both approval in that chamber, as well as any possible reconciliation required if the House and Senate ultimately pass different versions, the successful vote bodes well for its final passage. Late last month, lawmakers on the Senate's Finance Committee cleared the bill by a 4-3 vote.

Arizona State Rep. Jeff Weninger, one of the co-sponsors of the bill and a sponsor himself of several related bills - including one submitted this week that, if approved, would block local and county regulation of blockchain nodes - recently told Fox News that the tax measure is aimed at making the state an accommodating place for users of the technology.

"It's one of a litany of bills that we're running that is sending a signal to everyone in the United States, and possibly throughout the world, that Arizona is going to be the place to be for blockchain and digital currency technology in the future," he told the news service.

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